Surging demand and domestic supply concerns propel China's October aluminium imports

According to customs data released on November 18, 2023, China experienced a fifth consecutive monthly increase in aluminium imports during October. The uptick is attributed to an improved buying appetite driven by solid demand and expectations of reduced supply in the domestic market. As the world's largest consumer and producer of aluminium, China imported 351,065 metric tons of unwrought aluminium and related products in October. This marked a 5.8 per cent increase from September's 331,716 tonnes and a significant 78.7 per cent surge from the same period last year.

Despite a sluggish economic recovery and constrained consumption in traditional sectors, the new energy sector exhibited a strong demand for aluminium. Fears of reduced domestic supply due to capacity cuts in the southwestern Yunnan province further fuelled imports. Yunnan, which contributes around 12 per cent to China's total aluminium capacity, initiated a cut of 1.15 million tonnes of capacity in early November to comply with anticipated power curbs until April.

For the first ten months of the year, China's aluminium imports totalled 2.39 million tonnes, reflecting a 27.5 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2022. Notably, imports of primary aluminium from Russia surged by 191 per cent to 806,253 tonnes in the first nine months, as indicated by customs data.

In addition to aluminium, bauxite imports, a crucial raw material for aluminium production, increased by 24.7 per cent year-on-year to 11.1 million tonnes in October, bolstered by strong demand. Meanwhile, domestic output of primary aluminium reached a record monthly high, driven by higher profits for smelters.

Over the January-October period, bauxite imports totalled 117.7 million tonnes, reflecting a 13.7 per cent increase from the previous year, according to the data.